What do you think?
Rate this book
Museum of Mysteries #11
Quartzing Trouble
As Reed Museum of Art and Archaeology head curator Scarlett McCormick is preparing for her latest exhibit, a curious package addressed to Quartz Sutton—someone she doesn’t know—arrives at the museum. Her head of security voices concerns about the contents, prompting Scarlett to hand over the cryptic box to the police.
Soon, Scarlett is clued in about Quartz’s identity.
The mystery man is an unexpected guest of Hal and Greta Baron, docents at the museum. Quartz intrigues everyone who gets caught up in his tall tales of missing black pearls, sunken ships, and hidden mines
Over dinner one night, Quartz gleefully informs Scarlett and her friends that his stories are filled with breadcrumbs they can follow to solve a mystery of their own.
When Quartz disappears, Scarlett wonders if his vanishing act is another hint. However, after it is determined Quartz was taken against his will, Scarlett and FBI agent Luke Anderson decide it’s time to solve the puzzle.
In an effort to help, Hal maps out a plan to trick the presumed kidnapper into revealing where Quartz has been hidden. As the suspects gather, nothing is quite as it seems and a treasure trove of new clues are revealed, making Scarlett and her friends question almost everything they thought they knew about the case. But the one thing they know for certain is they have to find Quartz before it’s too late.
Soon, Scarlett is clued in about Quartz’s identity.
The mystery man is an unexpected guest of Hal and Greta Baron, docents at the museum. Quartz intrigues everyone who gets caught up in his tall tales of missing black pearls, sunken ships, and hidden mines
Over dinner one night, Quartz gleefully informs Scarlett and her friends that his stories are filled with breadcrumbs they can follow to solve a mystery of their own.
When Quartz disappears, Scarlett wonders if his vanishing act is another hint. However, after it is determined Quartz was taken against his will, Scarlett and FBI agent Luke Anderson decide it’s time to solve the puzzle.
In an effort to help, Hal maps out a plan to trick the presumed kidnapper into revealing where Quartz has been hidden. As the suspects gather, nothing is quite as it seems and a treasure trove of new clues are revealed, making Scarlett and her friends question almost everything they thought they knew about the case. But the one thing they know for certain is they have to find Quartz before it’s too late.
ebook
1 person is currently reading
16 people want to read
About the author
Margaret Welch
11 books9 followersPseudonym for Molly MacRae.
Bio
Molly MacRae spent twenty years in the foothills of the Blue Ridge Mountains of Upper East Tennessee, where she managed The Book Place, an independent bookstore; may it rest in peace. Before the lure of books hooked her, she was curator of the history museum in Jonesborough, Tennessee’s oldest town.
MacRae lives with her family in Champaign, Illinois, where she recently retired from connecting children with books at the public library.
Bibliography and Awards
Novels
Argyles and Arsenic, Pegasus Books, March 2022
Heather and Homicide, Pegasus Books, December 2020
Thistles and Thieves, Pegasus Books, January 2020
Crewel and Unusual, Pegasus Books, January 2019
For Letter or Worse (writing as Margaret Welch), Annie’s Fiction, 2018
Scones and Scoundrels, Pegasus Books, January 2018
The Grim Reader (writing as Margaret Welch), Annie’s Fiction, 2017
Plaid and Plagiarism, Pegasus Books, December 2016
Knot the Usual Suspects, NAL/Obsidian, September 2015
Plagued by Quilt, NAL/Obsidian, November 2014
Spinning in Her Grave, NAL/Obsidian, March 2014
Dyeing Wishes, NAL/Obsidian, July 2013
Last Wool and Testament, NAL/Obsidian, September 2012
Lawn Order, Five Star Mysteries/Cengage, December 2010
Wilder Rumors, Five Star Mysteries/Cengage, May 2007
Short Stories
“Junk Food,” in Cooked to Death, Nodin Press, July 2016
My Troubles (collection of Margaret & Bitsy stories) Darkhouse Books, December 2014
“Cookies,” Alfred Hitchcock Mystery Magazine (AHMM) June 2008
“A Walk in the Park,” Hardluck Stories, Summer 2007
“Wilder Dancing,” Mysterical-E, Summer 2007
“Practically Perfect,” Doses of Death, Lulu, 2005
“Fandango by Flashlight,” AHMM, December 2005
“It Takes Two,” AHMM, February 2002
“No Can Do,” AHMM, July/August 2001
“Ah, Paradise,” AHMM, November 2000
“Missing Something,” AHMM, May 2000
“Speaking Terms,” AHMM, April 1991
“My Trouble,” January 1990
Nonfiction
“Buzzing with Stories: A Visit with Author, Librarian, Teacher Janice N. Harrington,” Children and Libraries, Vol 19, No 4 (2021)
“Wilder Rumors,” an essay in the “New Books” section of Mystery Scene, issue 100, 2007
“Book Pusher: My Life in and out of Fiction,” Mystery Readers Journal, Fall 2005
Humor, Rumor, and Romance in Old Jonesborough, Overmountain Press, 1991 (editor)
Mystery Theater
Interactive dinner plays available through Positive Solutions Through Stories and Tours
“The Dead of Winter Murder Mystery”
“Daggers and Old Lace”
“Murder in Little Chicago”
Awards
2015 Lovey Award for Best Paranormal for Plagued by Quilt
2013 Lovey Award for Best Paranormal for Last Wool and Testament
2012 Suspense Magazine’s Best of 2012 for Last Wool and Testament
2001 Virginia Highlands Creative Writing Contest, first prize for novel, Wilder Rumors
2000 Sherwood Anderson Award for short fiction for “More or Less”
Bio
Molly MacRae spent twenty years in the foothills of the Blue Ridge Mountains of Upper East Tennessee, where she managed The Book Place, an independent bookstore; may it rest in peace. Before the lure of books hooked her, she was curator of the history museum in Jonesborough, Tennessee’s oldest town.
MacRae lives with her family in Champaign, Illinois, where she recently retired from connecting children with books at the public library.
Bibliography and Awards
Novels
Argyles and Arsenic, Pegasus Books, March 2022
Heather and Homicide, Pegasus Books, December 2020
Thistles and Thieves, Pegasus Books, January 2020
Crewel and Unusual, Pegasus Books, January 2019
For Letter or Worse (writing as Margaret Welch), Annie’s Fiction, 2018
Scones and Scoundrels, Pegasus Books, January 2018
The Grim Reader (writing as Margaret Welch), Annie’s Fiction, 2017
Plaid and Plagiarism, Pegasus Books, December 2016
Knot the Usual Suspects, NAL/Obsidian, September 2015
Plagued by Quilt, NAL/Obsidian, November 2014
Spinning in Her Grave, NAL/Obsidian, March 2014
Dyeing Wishes, NAL/Obsidian, July 2013
Last Wool and Testament, NAL/Obsidian, September 2012
Lawn Order, Five Star Mysteries/Cengage, December 2010
Wilder Rumors, Five Star Mysteries/Cengage, May 2007
Short Stories
“Junk Food,” in Cooked to Death, Nodin Press, July 2016
My Troubles (collection of Margaret & Bitsy stories) Darkhouse Books, December 2014
“Cookies,” Alfred Hitchcock Mystery Magazine (AHMM) June 2008
“A Walk in the Park,” Hardluck Stories, Summer 2007
“Wilder Dancing,” Mysterical-E, Summer 2007
“Practically Perfect,” Doses of Death, Lulu, 2005
“Fandango by Flashlight,” AHMM, December 2005
“It Takes Two,” AHMM, February 2002
“No Can Do,” AHMM, July/August 2001
“Ah, Paradise,” AHMM, November 2000
“Missing Something,” AHMM, May 2000
“Speaking Terms,” AHMM, April 1991
“My Trouble,” January 1990
Nonfiction
“Buzzing with Stories: A Visit with Author, Librarian, Teacher Janice N. Harrington,” Children and Libraries, Vol 19, No 4 (2021)
“Wilder Rumors,” an essay in the “New Books” section of Mystery Scene, issue 100, 2007
“Book Pusher: My Life in and out of Fiction,” Mystery Readers Journal, Fall 2005
Humor, Rumor, and Romance in Old Jonesborough, Overmountain Press, 1991 (editor)
Mystery Theater
Interactive dinner plays available through Positive Solutions Through Stories and Tours
“The Dead of Winter Murder Mystery”
“Daggers and Old Lace”
“Murder in Little Chicago”
Awards
2015 Lovey Award for Best Paranormal for Plagued by Quilt
2013 Lovey Award for Best Paranormal for Last Wool and Testament
2012 Suspense Magazine’s Best of 2012 for Last Wool and Testament
2001 Virginia Highlands Creative Writing Contest, first prize for novel, Wilder Rumors
2000 Sherwood Anderson Award for short fiction for “More or Less”
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews
March 25, 2024
An enjoyable installment in a fun mystery series. Really liked this one.
October 31, 2024
I enjoyed all the literary references in Quartzing Trouble by Margaret Welch. This cozy mystery is about the abduction of a friendly stranger to Crescent Harbor, California, and the Reed Museum of Art and Archeology. Quinn “Quartz” Sutton comes to town after his mysterious package arrives at the Reed Museum.
Our protagonist, Scarlett McCormick, head curator of the museum, and her friends try to uncover what happened to Quartz and why and what was in his mysterious package. A slew of believable, well-developed characters helps and hinders the progress. Literary quotes—from Shakespeare to Robert Burns—fly from the characters’ mouths in hopes that some of them will guide the “Reed Museum Six” [my term], the amateur detectives in this story, Scarlett, her boyfriend FBI agent Luke Anderson, Hal and Greta Baron, Allie, and Winnie, to Quartz.
The tension builds, and misdirection is everywhere. If you are looking for an intriguing cozy mystery, then Quartzing Trouble by Margaret Welch is the mystery for you.
Our protagonist, Scarlett McCormick, head curator of the museum, and her friends try to uncover what happened to Quartz and why and what was in his mysterious package. A slew of believable, well-developed characters helps and hinders the progress. Literary quotes—from Shakespeare to Robert Burns—fly from the characters’ mouths in hopes that some of them will guide the “Reed Museum Six” [my term], the amateur detectives in this story, Scarlett, her boyfriend FBI agent Luke Anderson, Hal and Greta Baron, Allie, and Winnie, to Quartz.
The tension builds, and misdirection is everywhere. If you are looking for an intriguing cozy mystery, then Quartzing Trouble by Margaret Welch is the mystery for you.
Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews